Of the many trends generated by the 2023 season, from the inane to the goofy, this one might be the most puzzling: Mike Trout sees more fastballs than any hitter in baseball. And he’s doing little with them.
Trout’s Angels reached a season-high six games over .500 with a stirring comeback win against the first-place Rangers on Monday. Shohei Ohtani gained the AL home run lead with numbers 19 and 20. The bullpen has been superb. And yet Trout is mired in one of the longest and strangest slumps of his great career. Pitchers are getting him out the same way over and over. Trout has a good idea what’s coming, and he still can’t square up a fastball.
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